Project 300
400 years before the birth of Jesus the prophet Isaiah spoke to those who were living in a time of darkness and fear “ fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. “ Isaiah 43.1-2
Project 300 – Securing the Legacy
St George’s has been the parish church since 1723 and is a Grade II* Listed Building. But after 300 years of continuous use, it is overdue for a serious renovation. In 2023, the church began raising money to repair the Hawksmoor ceiling, insulate the building for Net Zero 2030, and provide modern community facilities.
In December 2024, we were awarded a £380,000 development grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. ‘Project 300 – Securing the Legacy is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we can now further develop our plans to safeguard the church and remove it from the Heritage at Risk Register, improve its facilities, and engage more people with its history and heritage, getting it in great shape to serve God, the parish and the community.
This award from the Heritage Fund endorses the huge amount of work over the last few years and is an important step along a journey that began four days before Christmas in 2018 when the church was closed due to the unstable nature of the 18th century ceiling which was at risk of collapse. For a year we worshipped in our local school while temporary repairs were put in place and then we were able to
return four weeks before Christmas the following year. However, no sooner had we reopened than we faced closure again for nearly two years due to the global
pandemic. Despite these many setbacks, faith was never lost at St George’s.
In this development phase of the project, which runs to early 2027, we’ll work with architects, surveyors and community consultants to plan the conservation work, design the new facilities, develop our community activities and events programming, and develop a business plan. These designs and plans will form the basis of our £3.5m Delivery Phase Grant Application to the Heritage Fund in Spring 2027 and if approved, we’ll move to the Delivery Phase in Summer 2027 with work completing in Winter 2029.
Our Heritage Fund Development Grant doesn’t cover the full cost of the project, we need to raise some of the fund ourselves – from grants, historic building trusts and from our own giving.
April 2025: Project starts and first money comes from the Lottery.
September 2025: Project Manager – Abi Morris starts work.
January 2026: Consultations with our communities and possible partners.
March 2026: Draft interpretation strategy ready to test.
June 2026: Structural surveys and RIBA stage 2. designs complete.
December 2026: Draft activity plan complete.
April 2027: Stage 3 designs complete.
May 2027: Go back to Heritage Fund to secure remaining grant to enable works to start.
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PLEASE PRAY FOR:
- The Project Board from the PCC and others, who will work carefully with the Project Manager on the details.
- People to hear about and become interested in what we are doing – as supporters or givers.
Thank you for your support
and concern.
How do I give?
You can give online by simple BACS payment, to set this up please email accounts@sgtm.org for the account details. If you are a taxpayer, you can enable us to claim gift aid back on your donations by giving through the following:
